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In Taiwan, Apple product launches are closely watched not just by technophiles eager for the latest gadget news but also by an entire supply chain whose fortunes depend on how well the final product sells.

For them and for the many investors who have bought into ‘Apple concept stocks’ in Taiwan in recent days, Tuesday’s unveiling of the iPhone 4S, rather than a revolutionary iPhone 5, was decidedly bad news.

Expectations, after all, had been high. For months, Taiwan’s media had been leaking technical details of a supposed iPhone 5 and naming those among the island’s many high-tech manufacturers that had been chosen to supply its parts.

So when Apple announced only an upgrade to the existing iPhone 4, it was not just the Cupertino-based company’s shares in the US (AAPL:NSQ) that took a hit. Purported Apple suppliers including Foxconn Tech (2354:TAI), which makes casings, Largan Precision and Genius Electronics (3008:TAI), which makes camera lenses, and Wintek (2384:TAI), which makes touch panels, all fell by more than 5 per cent on Tuesday. Hon Hai (2317:TAI), Apple’s main contract manufacturer, fell by 1.6 per cent.

Taiwan’s media were equally scathing, happily running articles quoting Apple fans calling the iPhone 4S the ‘worst product launch ever’.

By contrast, shares in Apple rival HTC (2498:TAI) rose by more than 1 per cent. The smartphone maker was boosted, too, by being named one of Interbrand’s ‘Top 100 Best Global Brands 2011’, the first time a Taiwanese company has made the list.

With hardly a pause for breath, however, the specialist media are again looking ahead. Francis Sideco of iSuppli predicts that the iPhone 5 will launch in late 2012 or mid-2013 – giving everyone a whole year to speculate on which suppliers will become the next ‘Apple concept stocks’.

Related reading:
Apple unveils modest iPhone update, FT
Amazon breathes Fire into tablet market, FT
Google: Android malfunction, Lex
Interview with John Wang, CMO of HTC, Interbrand